Home Office

Domestic Abuse: Coronavirus

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to migrant women who have experienced domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak, and victims of domestic abuse are treated first and foremost as victims. That is why the Home Office launched the #YouAreNotAlone campaign to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of immigration status, are aware that existing sources of support remain open to them, such as the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year, by a dedicated team of experts.The campaign has been backed by an additional £2 million in funding to support technological capability, such as online services, helplines and technology support. £12 million of this funding has already been allocated. The advice and information from the campaign has been made available in multiple languages to reach out to as many people as possible, including languages from Asia/South-East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The campaign has so far generated almost 250 million impressions.In May, the Government announced £76 million of the £750 million package of support for charities would go towards groups supporting survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery as well as to ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need.MHCLG have so far awarded £8.76 million through the Domestic Abuse Covid-19 Emergency Support Fund. Over a third of successful applications include organisations providing specialist support services and safe accommodation for BME, LGBT and disabled survivors of domestic abuse. Moreover, £22 million of the £76 million support package is being distributed by the Ministry of Justice to 548 local domestic abuse and sexual violence charities in England and Wales.The Home Office is providing £2 million in extraordinary funding for domestic abuse support services to support national charities who would not be eligible for the support that is being distributed by either the MHCLG or the MOJ. The Bid Prospectus made clear that charities who support victims of domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds were eligible to apply. Successful applicants include; Karma Nirvana, the Muslim Women’s Network, the Black Association of Women UK and Southall Black Sisters.

Domestic Abuse: LGBT People

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to LGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Atkins: We are working closely with domestic abuse organisations, police and Domestic Abuse Commissioner to monitor and assess the impact of COVID-19 on victims of domestic abuse, including LGBTQ+ individuals.The Government has posted advice regarding national helplines, including specialist helplines, on gov.uk to guide victims to the most appropriate support for their individual needs https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help .This has been extensively promoted through our awareness raising campaign #YouAreNotAlone.The National LGBT Domestic Abuse helpline provides emotional and practical support for LGBTQ+ people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse and remains available during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Home Office has provided £120,000 of funding each year since 2016 for the helpline.Galop also received an additional £71,000 for the National LGBT Domestic Abuse Helpline from the £2m fund announced by the Home Office to help support helplines and online services during this period. This is in addition to the £750 million funding package announced by the Chancellor, £76 million of which was allocated to support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery as well as ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need. From this funding the Home Office launched a £2m fund for national and regionally based domestic abuse organisations, of which £1.73 million has been allocated to 28 organisations.